paid hands alike, came together to restore the beautiful beaches of Pembrokeshire. In the immediate days and weeks that followed, one thousand people worked around the clock to rescue oiled birds and remove oil from beaches using suction tankers, pressure washers and oil-absorbing scrubbers. The main clean-up operation lasted several weeks and continued on a reduced scale for over a year. Aftermath Almost three years after the spill in January 1999, Milford Haven Port Authority (MHPA) was fined a record £4m after pleading guilty to the offence of causing pollution under the Water Resources Act 1991. The MHPA was also required to pay a further £825,000 prosecution costs by agreement. The cost of the clean-up operation was estimated to be £60m. When the effects to the economy and environment are taken into account, the final cost is estimated to have been twice that, at £120m ($129602160 USD). Following the spill, the Sea Empress was repaired and renamed five times. In 2004, she was sold and moved to Chittagong as a floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO). In September 2009, she was acquired by Singapore-based Oriental Ocean Shipping Holding PTE Ltd, renamed MV Welwind and converted from an oil tanker to bulk carrier. In 2012, she was renamed for a fifth time to 'Wind 3', before Being scrapped in June 2012, in Chittagong See also Braer – Another single-hulled oil tanker which ran aground off the Shetland Islands in 1993 spilling 56,000 tonnes of oil Torrey Canyon – Ran aground off the coast of Cornwall in 1969. It was en route to Milford Haven MT Haven – (Formerly known as Amoco Milford Haven) a supertanker which sank off the coast of Genoa, Italy in 1991 Llangennech derailment - a train crash in 2020 which caused a major oil spill in south Wales References External links Esso Portsmouth which exploded in July 1960, whilst berthed in Milford Haven Christos Bitas tanker which ran aground 10 miles off the coast of Pembrokeshire in 1978, spilling 4000 tonnes of oil Oil spills in the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1996 Environment of Pembrokeshire 1996 in the environment Maritime incidents in Wales 1996 disasters in the United Kingdom 1996 in Wales 20th century in Pembrokeshire February 1996 events in the United Kingdom